Warmth
by XxxAyakixxX
Summary: It's been three years since the Firefly massacre-and while Joel thinks he's in the clear-a woman comes into the uncanny relationship, slowly destroying Ellie and Joel's bonds from the inside. (Cover picture is a screenshot.)
1. A Stranger

A/N: There will be an OC in this story-a necessary OC to be frank-and if you do not like stories with OCs, don't read. This story will be a multi-chapter story, that may be a longer than I was going for, so if you don't mind long stories, awesome. :D

Disclaimer: I don't own the Last of Us, but I do own the OC. :3

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><p>Late Evening - December 8, 2036.<p>

Joel was a man of stealth, strategy, and sometimes even sheer brutality, but he wasn't a man with a luxuriously warm coat. Right now, he would do anything to feel the warmth of cotton hugging his clothed skin. But in an apocalyptic world, there ain't much luxury, especially in the bitter cold of Wyoming. He had only a light coat with many holes, a ripped pair of pants, and cowboy boots to keep his body-heat to a moderate degree; and that isn't easy when your boots are made of suede. They were all ready stained with clumps of snow, and other parts of the boots were soaked and gave a horribly uncomfortable feeling when it got to your socks. Now Joel didn't usually wear socks, but he had to so he wouldn't get frost bite: then again, he'd get it anyway by the large amounts of water drowning the insides of his footwear. His teeth chattered again at the gusts of cold wind, and he cursed the season for all it brought. Sure, it was great when you were in your home, snuggling up to a fireplace and watching the same rerun on TV every year, but when you're actually outside for the remainder of the day, it's Hell- the cold version.

Joel placed his hands to his mouth, breathing onto them to warm his body and pale hands. His breath shivered as it contacted his chilled skin, and he almost grovelled in pleasure when he finally felt heat reprieve throughout his body. He retrieved his hands on instinct, feeling a pull on his jacket sleeve.

"Joel, we haven't found a deer in hours! And it's- so..fucking cold." Ellie said while her lips shook unintentionally.

"I know, I know. We'll stake out for a little while longer, and if we still can't find anything, screw the whole thing. All right?" Joel told her in assurance, and she nodded in relief.

"We better. Tommy's place is calling my name." Ellie joked, and Joel let out a soft chuckle.

Ellie jumped onto the next slope, along with Joel, who was still wishing for a coat to call his own. She glanced over at her protector's face, almost trying to find the truth within his expressions and actions. She still hasn't forgotten about the Fireflies, and how odd it was that they cancelled everything at the drop of a hat. It didn't feel right, but her heart begged to be by Joel's side nonetheless. It just felt..right, even after all these years.

A gust of wind blows through Ellie's hair, chilling her ears in an instant. To relieve the cold, she held her ears with her fingers, praying for a quick re-heat. Her hair had gotten longer, she noticed, and with a complacent look, her one finger twisted around a thin lock. She smiled at the simplicity of her childish whimsy, even if she was 17, she still would call herself a child. Odd, she knew..but..she wanted to hang on to whatever childhood was left without whining about not being an adult. It was never understanded by her as to why every diary or journal she picked up along her many journeys were filled with kids talking about wanting to be grown-up. Jesus, just be happy with your life right now, it won't last forever. She retracted her finger, replacing it for the comfort of her frozen ear. It was so cold! She should of never of come on this hunt, and now she was freezing from head-to-toe.

Ellie's daydream evaporated into nothing all of the sudden, making her flinch at the touch of Joel's swift hand. He grabbed her arm, giving it a tug.

"Ellie, y'see that?" He whispered, a smile daring to approach his features.

Curious eyes darted to the direction of Joel's shaking finger, and a gasp attempted to crawl out from the girl's throat, but she stuffed it down, smiling at their unfortunate prey; and within that smile was confidence, confidence that refused to be deterred. She proudly took out her bow, and pulled back the arrow in a quick manner. Joel gave her one of those parent looks, the one that says, "That's too much for you to handle," but surprisingly, he only gave out a light sigh and allowed me with a small pat to my back for assurance.

Excitement forced itself into Ellie's body, leaving her speechless as she maneuvered around the several trees hiding the creature of interest; she crouched against the wide tree, hiding from the deer that would soon be hers. Her hands hurried to get a firmer grip on the handle of the bow, and she anxiously aimed at her prey. Her fingers began to fall back from their position, prepared to let go when ready, and before she could even think, a sound stopped her.

_THUNK_

An arrow firmly placed itself into the deer's temple, killing him immediately. Ellie followed along with the deer's action, falling back in startled bewilderment. Joel, who was hiding only a few trees adjacent from her, ran to her aid, trying to pull her up from her scared daze. He dragged her to the nearest tree accessible and cramped her there, rushing to hide, with him only a tree away from her. His eyes continuously checked on her, hoping she'd be safe. This had to of been a hunter, one that comes along to steal or kill. Unfortunately, he just had to get the deer before them. Oddly though, it was an _arrow_ that protruded from the deer's flesh, not a bullet. Nobody really had bows, it was mostly pistols and rifles nowadays: that's what made it strange.

Joel's head peeped from his hiding place, and he caught a glimpse at the character. Just from that quick look, he couldn't determine much, mostly because he hurried to hide himself as to not let the guy hurt Ellie or himself. Speaking of Ellie, she seemed to have recollected herself, and was now crouching against the tree again, listening for a possible intrusion to her well-being. She kept her bow closely to her waist, ready to kill. But enough about Ellie..the person who came and killed the deer, was it just one person? Or would this be one of those times where they'd have to let go of their prey for safety measures. That would be the third time that that would happen to the duo. But hopefully, this wouldn't be that kind of day. He checked again, uneasiness enveloping his mind, and with that check, his heart almost stopped. The person wasn't there anymore.

He heard a twig crack. Turning around on his heel to the noise, he saw the person who stole their prey; a woman holding a bow, aiming perfectly at his skull.

"Should of been more quiet, Cowboy." The woman addressed, her eyes fixed on him.

Joel would of showed at least a miniscule amount of fear if it weren't for the fact that Ellie was only a tree away, ready to kill whoever would attempt to hurt her or Joel. The woman's eyebrows knitted together, almost angry that he didn't seem fazed in the least, until, she met her match.

"Put your weapon down! Now!" Ellie ordered, her grip on her bow never letting up.

The woman's eyes widened, and lowered her weapon, staring wistfully at Ellie, attempting to walk to her. Ellie prepared herself to shoot, her anger bubbling up.

"STOP! I will fucking shoot you if you move one more step!" Ellie warned, her fingers sweaty, yet cold.

The woman stopped, and her hands raised above her head to show surrender. Ellie watched skeptically while the woman knelt down on the ground and threw her bow a good few feet away.

"Joel, what do I do?" Ellie asked, hyper about the situation.

"Kill her." Joel simply answered, knowing fully well she had to of had buddies who would come along and kill everyone at Tommy's place. Or at least attempt to.

Ellie got the picture without an explanation, and with that floating around in her mind, she aimed at the trembling woman's skull. The woman quickly spoke out, interrupting her execution.

"Wait! Let me say one thing!" The woman begged, her eyes craving mercy.

"What the hell is so important?" Ellie questioned, not having much mercy to show. The woman's eyes pierced her soul, and she felt guilt override her. She was going to die..she might as well say her last words. "One thing."

"Fair enough, Ellie." The woman blurted, and then let her head droop down.

Those were her last words..?

Ellie's weapon dropped in an instant, no hesitance involved. How- how the fuck did she know her name?!

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><p>AN: Thanks for all the readers! I appreciate it.

:D


	2. Come Along

A/N: Thanks for reading my story, I didn't really expect anyone to like it since it had an OC, but I guess I should expect the unexpected. Also, I read a review that I switched point of views, I'm very sorry for doing that; I'm used to doing first person point of views.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Last of Us.

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><p>"Don't fuck with me! I don't know you, and you sure as hell don't know me." Ellie said in a warning tone, her grip returning to its rightful place on her bow's handle.<p>

The woman sat still, thinking of a way to win Ellie's trust. It appeared that it would be a difficult thing to gain..but who trusts anybody these days? The woman looked at Ellie's face, which, Ellie mentally detested. The woman knew it was now or never.

"I didn't think I'd find you-Anna must of guided me to you." The woman stated, Ellie's eyes squinting in a fierce manner at the sound of her mother's name.

It was a surreal feeling, not really good, not really bad, but it was definitely in between. Ellie kept an almost pompous aim at the stranger in front of her, but this time, she aimed even closer to the skull. It was too good to be true-someone knowing her mom-that's why it had to be a lie.

"I said, don't fuck with me. Joel, hold her down so I can get a good shot at this sicko." Ellie instructed, no, ordered, and her face expressed little grace.

Joel obliged to the snappy order, and pushed the woman to lay completely on the ground, her head peeping out just enough for a perfect shot. Joel felt an odd, crawly feeling in the pit of his stomach; he knew that there was something odd about this woman. Plus, whoever this Anna was, Ellie cared about her enough to kill the woman in an emotionally heated spite.

"Wait! Please.." The woman begged, and Ellie started to let go of the arrow to kill her. It would be so easy.. "I have proof!"

Ellie stopped for a moment, retracting her bow to the side of her, curious at the woman's "proof". She felt like this woman was lying up to the highest fluency, but this proof she spoke of really spurred an interest.

"Show me." Ellie said in a resentful manner, kneeling down to the woman's level.

"Here.." The woman breathed out in slight pain from the man whom pushed her down in sheer force, her fingers grubbed at the pendant in her pocket and handed it to Ellie's preying hand. "Proof enough?"

Ellie held tightly to the proof, and slowly opened her hands to see it. Tears welled up in her eyes, and they wished to fall from her shock-stricken face; yet Ellie told herself she was too strong to cry for this. Her finger grazed at the faded engraving on the pendant, and spelled the name on it with a dipped finger. It felt warm, but it also gave out a bitterly cold twinge to your skin. A gasp emitted from her chapped lips, and she pressed the treasure onto her chest for comfort and warmth. It wasn't for the warmth you'd think, it was for the heart and soul, not the flesh. This was all the proof she needed: a firefly pendant engraved with the name, Anna-the last name blurred into a cheap metal.

Joel watched from his awkward position, hoping that Ellie'd hurry up and kill the crazy person, but that didn't seem possible: not by the face Ellie was making. Knowing fully well what Ellie had in mind, he lessened the pressure on the lady's back to give her comfort, and waited for Ellie to say something.

"Yeah.." Ellie answered, slinging her bow over her slumped shoulder. "Joel, let her up. She's coming with us to Tommy's place."

Joel seethed inwardly, not sure if he should let the woman go. "Are you positive, Ellie? She might be lying.." Joel informed.

But Ellie had all ready guessed that possibility, and the name on the pendant could of been somebody else named Anna, but she didn't care; she decided to let her imagination run loose and let it think of good things. This was her mother's pendant, and that was the end of it.

"She's not lying, now get up." Ellie directed with a quick wave, and her eyes stayed glued to the pendant.

It shined so beautifully-as bent and worn as it was-yet, as beautiful as it was to her, she placed it in her backpack for safety. She did not want to lose that treasure, not for anything.

Joel didn't trust the woman, not a bit, but he trusted Ellie, and that's what counted. Whatever proof that woman gave her was a free pass to Ellie's trust, and his skeptical eyes would always go to daunt the woman. He would never trust her, and what Ellie had in mind for when they got to Tommy's, probably wasn't anything good. With one look, you could tell that Ellie was blooming in curiosity about the pendant, and she'd want to know more and more about it: meaning he'd have to watch the woman's every move, lest she forget that he would kill whoever tried to hurt Ellie.

"Ellie..what exactly is the plan for us and that woman?" Joel asked, getting off from the disgruntled woman.

"..To be honest, I don't know. Just bear with me here." Ellie whispered to Joel, regarding the woman's closeness.

"Are you crazy? What if this is what she was planning all along?" Joel questioned in a quiet, yet firm tone.

"It's not. The pendant proves it." Ellie replied, her eyes piercing his very being.

He loved Ellie, and he wasn't going to lose her..not like that. "What if she was guessing? Using a pendant that had 'Anna' on it?"

"She's not. I-it's Anna. I know it is." Ellie stuttered hesitantly, hoping to God this was the pendant. But even if it wasn't, she'd still be too close to give it up and act like it wasn't a possibility anymore. She needed to know more.

Joel soaked in Ellie's sorrowful words and understood immediately. That was a personal matter, someone that was relatively close to her that had the same name on that pendant, as well as being a Firefly. He felt it was too fortunate for something like that to happen, but he swallowed it down for Ellie's sake. After all, that could be the pendant whom she thinks it belongs to. He trudged ahead with a conflicted uneasiness.

"All right." He simply complied, knowing it wasn't a good idea to ask about the "Anna" person.

The dazed trio moved about the snowy sloops, and maneuvered around the various foregoing objects and environmental abstractions. All of them had the same idea..getting to Tommy's before they'd freeze.

Another split tree hindered their path, but it was an easy triumph, only a little hop-over. It was odd though..the whole time, ever since they embarked to their location of interest, none of them said a word. Worries of destroying the fine foundations they had kept over the journey by merely talking, enforced them not to speak. It was so quiet. Ellie, for one, couldn't stand it anymore.

"So uh, what's your name, anyway?" Ellie awkwardly asked to spark up a conversation.

"Oh, Rose." Rose replied with a nervous smile. She looked at the stoic man in front of them. "What's the cowboy's name?"

"Hah, Joel? Yeah, he's pretty grumpy, but after you go on a life-threatening adventure with him for a year, he'll warm up to you." Ellie stated loud enough for Joel's ears and let out a soft chuckle.

"That so?" Rose rhetorically inquired, and the laughter died down in a quick-fashion. She pressed her lips together for a minute, thinking of a way to converse. A light bulb lit up in an instant, and her lips parted to conjure up a stupid joke. "I used to be a doctor, but then I lost patients."

Ellie forced her hands not to rub at her happily-surprised eyes, and a ginger laugh escaped from her bright smile. "No. Fucking. Way." It was hard to believe the woman in front of her had funny jokes up her sleeve.

"I fired my masseuse today. She just rubbed me the wrong way." Rose punned, a chuckle escaping her mouth.

"Haha!" Ellie laughed, enjoying herself. "All right, hold on. Let me try. Two peanuts walk into a bar, one was a salted." Her eyes twinkled excitedly as she began to feel more alive. It was the joke juices she supposed.

Ellie gazed at the woman with curiosity, expecting a gut-wrenching joke to fly from her lips. Of course, the good kind.

Rose took in a deep breath so she could conjure up another pun. Her optics locked into Ellie's eyes, grabbing the girl's attention. "In some places, fog will never be mist." She added to the mix.

Ellie giggled at the moronic puns they were telling, and she couldn't help continue the long line of them. "Owls don't get old, they just don't give a hoot."

The two ladies passed puns over and over, each one becoming more stupid than the last one. It was an unexpected outcome, but the two seemed to gradually get used to each other. There was still a specific type of awkwardness that remained, and Ellie still didn't withdraw all of her trust to Rose yet, not that easily. But the unlikely chemistry grew along with the cheesy jokes. Of course, there's always a losing end..

"Christ.." Joel groaned. "Two peas in a pod." Joel ran faster, praying to get there in time before he lost his mind.

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><p>AN: I decided, why not continue? So, here I am. Tell me what you think, and criticism is very much so welcomed. (It would help me improve my writing abilities.)


	3. Truth or False?

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Last of Us.

:O

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><p><em>"She's lying to you." Ellie's thoughts kept telling her, but she refused to listen. "You know, David was just as nice as her. She's going to betray you! You know it's true!" Ellie shook her thoughts out by a short and quick nod of the head and followed Joel along the snowy path. <em>

Ellie, although there was a bad feeling about it all, still trusted Rose; or moreover, _wanted_ to trust Rose. The pendant that Rose gave her, the seemingly truthful story she spouted with such a calm tone, the convenient names and probable answers to all of Ellie's mental and outward questions; Rose couldn't be lying..it wouldn't make any sense. It was all too convenient to not be true, and Ellie stuck to that theory like glue and outright refused to think otherwise.

Other than the internal conflictions ravaging Ellie's thoughts-Joel had his own theory, the one where he seemed to always conduct once someone got too friendly with Ellie-that theory was rock-solid in his head and couldn't be any more perpetual to take its leave. He fathomed the worse out of that woman; nobody is that nice during all this tragedy and Hell, and she was indefinitely included in the precede throughout his mind. Without question, she was a harm to Ellie, and the more Joel thought about it, he regretted allowing the woman to come along. She was probably plotting something behind their backs, as a matter of fact, she's been awfully quiet..

"Hey! Get in front where I can see you." Joel ordered, his finger swirling around to the designated place(in front.)

"Joel." Ellie said in a scolding-tone.

"It's all right, Ellie. I know why he wants me up there." Rose concluded with a sly smirk. Ellie gave her a cock of the brow and a curious tilt of the temple. "In front's where all the action is."

Joel's face reddened a horribly fuzzy pink, and Ellie's nonstop laughter at both Rose's joke and Joel's reaction didn't help much. While the laughter began to form into louder guffaws from Ellie, and even Rose, Joel hid his face with the collar of his coat and prevented himself from reacting anymore to their childish behavior.

"Come on, Joel! That's pretty fucking funny." Ellie pointed out, nudging Joel's arm a bit as a playful jest.

"Let's just go home." Joel managed to mumble through the ripped cotton in his coat.

"All right, Cranky Pants." Ellie intentionally murmured loudly enough for her fellow hikers to hear. Rose looked back at her and gave her a toothy grin.

There was no doubt about it..those two were alike.

Finally, the jokes and laughter died down, much to Joel's pleasure; and the three somehow accomplished the feat of marching up and down several slopes, small mountains, and steep gaps to Tommy's in a couple hours.

Joel grabbed Rose's shoulder and lightly pulled her back to stop her set-in walk. He promptly pointed at the rusty, blue walls in front of them and breathed a sigh of relief once he knew that they would be curling up in blankets-slightly ripped and stained blankets-, but blankets nonetheless. The three of them grouped at the entrance, Joel being the first one to knock ever so courteously.

A muzzle pointed shakily at all of them, aiming at them in a perplexed manner; the man operating the gun shouts,"Shoot their throats out!"

The guy guarding beside him tugs on his shoulder, "Murry, they're friendlies! Gods' sake!" his eyes fixate on the group below. "Our apologies. He's new 'round here."

"Could of fooled me." Rose whispered to her group, causing a stifled laugh to produce itself from Ellie's mouth.

Joel taps Ellie on the shoulder with his hand, showing off a clear annoyance.

"What? It was funny." Ellie said with exasperated arm motions and swivels.

Joel huffs before he-as politely as possible-accepts the apology, and enters the establishment with a rather confused ambiance. The sounds of the footsteps behind gave him a chill up his spine; he almost felt surrounded. A choking feeling stunned him for a moment until he felt a light touch.

"Hey. You okay?" Ellie asked him, her delicate, pale fingers grasping Joel's shoulder.

Joel felt a deep obligation to answer truthfully, escpecially after all the Hell they've been through, but he, himself, didn't even know what to say. There was a mental infliction inside of Joel, tearing up his emotions. He seethed, wishing he'd know how to conceive his thoughts, but for now..he had to say something.

"Yeah." Joel answered with a vulnerable simplicity.

Ellie sensed something peculiar in Joel's tone, but ignored it for the time being and rambled on to request a simple favor. "Hey, Joel. I need to talk to Rose..privately."

"Yeah-yeah, of course." Joel agreed, wanting time alone as well(to think).

But of course, Tommy halted that seemingly perceivable future by pushing his way into the situation. His eyes switched from the unknown woman, to Joel, then to Ellie; and before he approached them with his nagging questions he placed his palms to his hips.

"Joel. Who's this? Did you get any meat?" Tommy asked, noticing that no animal was present.

"Ahh..well we did-" Joel tried to answer, scratching the back of his head.

"You did!? Where is it?" Tommy questioned, a little hyper.

"Well..I'll see you guys later." Ellie said, a smile daring to curve her lips. Her palm held onto Rose's arm and dragged her away.

"E-Ellie." Joel called, a hint of desperation.

Ellie left, leaving Joel to deal with Tommy and his inquiries. Joel inwardly cursed, unheard by his younger brother as Tommy walked up to him, his facial expression deepened into a restrained manner.

"You forgot the deer, didn't ya?" Tommy guessed, and Joel sighed heavily.

"Tommy, just forget the deer, okay?" Joel directed, his hands holding tightly on Tommy's arms to shut him up. "The woman's name is Rose; she's a soldier, and apparently knows something about Ellie's past."

"A soldier? Is she..a good soldier?" Tommy questioned, whispering while his head rotated in case of unsuspecting eavesdroppers.

"I don't know, but, I'm going to figure out all I can. Once I know more, I'll decide how to dispose of her." Joel replied, his tone grim and serious.

"So you did forget the deer?" Tommy theorized, a grin sported his face.

Joel let out another loose sigh.

Ellie better be okay.

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><p>Dirty, wet boots scraped the boarded floors underneath them, and the muck from the bottom of the shoes fell and stuck to the floor. Excited nature enveloped the childish souls of the two-in their own way-innocent beings, their mouths gaping in a sprightly manner. A race to the room determined the winner, and a winner caused vivacious emotions to occur inside them throughout the hallways.<p>

"I'm gonna win!" Ellie declared before even making it to their room.

Ellie took the lead by a good couple feet, and Rose yearned ever so frienziedly to beat her competitor. Unfortunately, Ellie was the first to reach the doorknob and open it. Her arms raised into the air, acting with a profound arrogance.

"Fuck yeah!" Ellie roared, and Rose urgently gasped for breath.

"You got lucky." Rose claimed, a playful smirk masked her features.

"Pfft. Sure." Ellie sarcastically attested, and Rose toothily smiled after regaining her normal breathing process. "All right. Seriousness starts now."

"Gotcha'." Rose accepted, a thumbs-up for proof.

Ellie-content with being the winner-started the conversation after sitting contentedly on the couch; Rose, concluding to sit in a different seat, sat in a rocking chair adjacent from Ellie's seat.

"Rose. I have questions about my mom." Rose's face falls, a discomfort slowly killing her.

"Go. Ask away." Rose reprieved, her words forced and partly disingenuous.

Ellie shook the feeling. Even if Rose appeared uncanny at the moment, it was the least impertinent to her; her mother derived as the most important topic in her mind, and that's how it would be-no question-.

"How do you know my mom?" Ellie queried, a palm carrying the weight of her head as she leaned on the arm of the couch.

Rose half-rose from the chair and descended back to her seat, seeming hesitant about answering. "Well-we-we were friends-as soldiers actually-, until she decided to vamoose all the way to the Fireflies. Nothing I said changed her mind and that was the end of it."

"Really?" Ellie rhetorically asked, bending over the couch in intrigue. "Then how did she contact you? How did you get her pendant?"

Rose laid more into the comfort of the rocking chair's cushion. Her mind zoomed to the contents of untouched memories. "I was pissed off at her, so several years pass and I run away and try to find her. I was pretty lucky to have found her-the Firefly's hideout was only several miles away and I hadn't even met any enemies-well..except for your mother." A dry joke escaped Rose's lips, yet the joke didn't even faze Ellie as she continued listening with a perched ear. "I begged her to come back and she refused; we fought for quite a while, and somehow, everything stopped. We were attacked by some hunters, and your mother was the first to die."

Ellie knitted her eyebrows with skepticism. "If you were arguing..why would she leave you to me?"

"Just because we argued didn't mean we weren't friends. She told me that I'd join one day, and we'd save the world together. Psht, look where we are now. Anyway, she entrusted you to Marlene first, and I was next in line; I wasn't exactly her pick of the day." Rose begrudgingly stated, her eyes distant and sad.

"All right.. Then, why did you come searching for me? How did you know if I was with Marlene or not?" Ellie questioned, not really trusting this strange story.

"Word spreads quickly among we soldiers. Marlene was 'Queen Firefly', so what do you expect?" Rose replied, her face daunted by Ellie's haunting glare.

"Okay. How did you get my mom's pendant then?" Ellie asked, standing up now, her mind distrusting every word Rose spouted.

"Since Marlene knew Anna considerably well, she kept the pendant in her pocket; I decided to just let her have it. But after-um-a guy killed Marlene, the guy took the pendant and gave it to me since we were also friends(me and the guy.)" Rose answered, and Ellie drew back a single footstep and stared at her straight in the eyes.

"I want you to promise me, Rose. Promise me that you're telling the truth." Ellie instructed, waiting to find a clue.

Rose stood up in confidence, her fists clenching tightly at the tense situation. She never expected it to come to a pinky promise-like thing, but she accepted the terms and she knew exactly what to say.

"All of it's true. I promise." Rose told her, a pinky drawing out to conclude it was a true promise.

Ellie huffed in a bored undertone, and her pinky reached to entangle itself onto Rose's pinky in return. Their faces stayed engaged to one another, locking themselves into their own little worlds as Ellie processed every word that Rose had said.

Ellie retracted her pinky and backed up a short foot, her hands dipped into her pockets and she looked at Rose for mental confirmation. Lips pressed together at an uncomfortable pressure, she knew what to do. Her back erected and her eyes went unfazed and taut.

"Okay." Ellie's words resounded, reverberating into her head like a never-ending loop. It drew back memories..memories that stained her faith and trust for anyone who engaged her. But this time, it was different; it was almost like she, no matter what, wanted to trust Rose.

Rose didn't speak, and she didn't have to; her face said it all. Blank. Blank emotions. Blank face. Blank heart. And the blankness and silence wasn't even a slight bit awkward, but serene as they slowly walked to their beds and slept. They needed to think, and they both knew that to a great extent.

Blankets draped over their exhausted bodies, and their minds pleaded for peace as they dreamed.

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><p>AN: Thanks for reading my story so far; I bid you farewell.


	4. Confession

A/N: Thanks for all the kind reviews, and I really don't have much more to say then to enjoy the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Last of us.

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><p><em>December 10, 2036<em>

Ellie let out an elongated, loud yawn while her arms stretched out horizontally, relieving the kinks in her muscles. Her upper body slowly bended over, and her head rotated to the sound of someone stirring, her pale-blue eyes widened.

"Joel?" Ellie called, fazed by Joel's shivering and twitchy body propped against the lower kitchen cabinets. "What's going on? Joel!"

Joel's eyes popped open as if he had just woken up, and his hands grasped more tightly onto his firearm, aiming half-fixated at random objects before he saw a scared girl slowly walk up to him, comforting him with a warm hand to his shoulder. Joel lowered his weapon, taking in a few breaths before finally speaking.

"Protecting you." Ellie's eyebrows knitted together at his surreal statement.

"What the hell for?" Ellie demanded an answer, worry showing in her eyes.

"Rose. She's gonna hurt you, I know it. I know it." Joel repeated, his eyes twitching involuntarily; obviously fatigued.

"Joel. Rose isn't going to do anything. In fact, after I figure out some more stuff about Anna, we'll kick her out. Okay?" Ellie assured him while Joel's eyes struggled to gaze up at her face.

"Why do you care so much?" Joel questioned, his arms grasping each other to covet warmth.

Ellie quickly took a seat next to Joel's exhausted frame, her arms draping over her bent knees. "She's my mom." She inwardly sighed, fingers contracting.

Joel pressed his lips together, finally understanding. He quickly threw out any more questions in his mind and concluded not to pry, especially about this. He looked away from her saddened, distant eyes.

"Oh." Was all he could say while Ellie sat unwavered by her own words.

A long silence enveloped the room, Rose deciding not to butt in, stayed asleep to allow them peace. The silence somehow grew dimmer and more awkward, leaving the two fidgety and anxious.

Ellie quickly hopped from her spot next to Joel, fixating on the worry-consumed man. "So..get some sleep. All right?"

Joel minutely smiled through compressed nerves, his head lying comfortably against the cabinet. "If you get _her_ outta here, it's a deal."

"Can't. She's sleeping." Ellie pointed out, almost outright trying to make sure she could stay.

"Just wake her up, then." Joel offered her, pointing at the thing curled up in blankets.

"Nah." Ellie said in a teasing tone, and began to leave.

"Ellie!" Joel called out, furrowing his eyebrows in annoyance as his hand reached out in vain.

Ellie closed the door after she expressed a smug smile, forcing Joel to associate with the demonic woman. He glared at her in sheer skepticism; her closed eyelids affirmed that she was asleep, but he still couldn't trust that fact when he got up from his forehand resting area. He walked up to his mattress, snail-like, pondering if it was safe enough considering how close he was to Rose's mattress. Then, after a couple minutes of skeptic thinking, he moved away from his bed, taking his pillow and blanket with him, and sat against the wall with a pillow behind his back and a blanket across his legs. Before he slept, he took one last look at Rose and slept ineptly.

Once Rose heard a snore, she confirmed to herself that Joel was asleep. She let out a quiet yawn into her enclosed palms, her eyes fixed on Joel's tired body against the seemingly-uncomfortable acclaimed bed.

"Damn.." Rose whispered, tip-toeing around the house. "How can he sleep against a wall?"

During her focused stay on Joel's sleeping spot, she noticed his blanket falling off his legs. Her eyebrows raised up in empathetic concern, and she slowly, yet quietly, picked up the blanket and tucked it onto Joel's body frame. She backed away, content with the blanket's wrap around him.

With a quick turn, she trudged to the kitchen to browse while Joel feigned sleep.

_"What is she-?" Joel thought to himself, forcing his eyes shut while Rose danced around the kitchen._

Rose, in a fast motion, pulled the drawers and cabinets open, ravaging every nook and cranny to find something. Joel stayed quiet, curious about her crazed frenzy. She continued looking until she found a screwdriver and couple of other tools. After a sly smirk sported her features, she retrieved a walky-talky from her jacket pocket and began working on the antenna and wiring.

Joel peeked at her deed, skeptic of her. _"Christ..what should I do?" _ His eyes then trained onto her without her seeing him.

"Almost..come on.." Rose whispered loudly enough for Joel to overhear, his curiosity eating him alive. "Fuck yes."

Rose held tightly on the walky-talky and held it in the air in victory. After her short victory, she went straight to finding a receiver, her fingers twisting the antenna around in desperation.

A voice sputtered out from the communication device. "..Hello..? Who's there..?"

Rose's mouth hung open, her knees trembling as she attempted to reply. But before she could even speak, she felt strong hands wrap around her slender hands, squeezing them in trivial anger.

"What the hell are you doing with that thing?" Joel asked, squeezing her hands even more tightly.

She squeaked in pain. "I thought you were sleeping!" Her teeth clamped down to ease the twinges of pain in her flesh.

"Answer me. Now!" Joel demanded, his fingers digging into her skin.

"Ahhhgh!" Rose groaned, trying to pull her hands away. "All right! I'm trying to talk to some of my fellow soldiers! Okay?"

The voice sputtered again. "What number are you?"

Joel blinked. Number? There weren't any numbers for soldiers..at least that's what Joel thought. He thought for a minute, the answer appearing closer to him. A guess quickly conjured in Joel's mind; that means she's-

"Okay! I'm a Firefly! I'm a Firefly! I'm a fucking Firefly, damn it!" She screamed through the agony, welled-up tears daring to fall.

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><p>AN: Next chapter will hopefully be updated soon. Tune in. :D


	5. Infected!

A/N: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Last of Us.

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><p><em>Same day<em>

Rose knew she was screwed when her fellow Firefly opposed her perceivably, well-thought-out plan by outright telling Joel she was a Firefly by saying: _"What number?" _And when you're screwed, the only plausible thing to do is speak the truth.

"I'm a Firefly.." She panted, her hands cramped at the forceful pushing against her only close friend, the wall.

Joel buried his eyebrows in anger, and his grip dramatically tightened on Rose at the new-found news. "Leave. Now." His tone was stern, and his breath was rugged.

He removed his calloused hands from the antagonist and cocked his pistol, aiming at her with it.

"Five seconds. Get out or I shoot."

Rose staggered to the exit, rubbing her sore hands as she stopped at the door. "She's our only hope. The cure to humanity." She remained confident with her belief.

"Heh.." Joel scoffed. "D'you even know how they get that miraculous cure for humanity out of her?"

"Blood transaction." Rose guessed as if it was the actual answer.

Joel scoffed again. "You know nothing about the Fireflies." He prepared himself to pull the trigger if she had attempted to do anything crazy.

"I _know_ that you killed the Fireflies." Rose retorted, her fists clenching in dismay.

A nerve kicked Joel. Hard. His grip on the gun was tight, and his aim was sporadic as he lifted it up to her skull. "And you'll die knowing."

The door flew open, revealing a disgruntled Ellie holding a pistol as blood perpetually expanded her blood-stained shirt. Her eyes fleeted to them and saw the anger and tension between them spiraling.

"Whatever you're doing, you gotta stop now. Infected got inside the building." Ellie announced, and Joel had to stop the execution.

Joel looked over at Rose, his eyes squinting indignantly. "Stay here. If I see you out of here, I'll shoot." His gaze locked in more tightly. "That's a fact."

Rose looked down at the floor, and waited for the pair to leave so she could seeth in self-pity and anger. It was a rushed exit, and they left with their bond firmly intact as they patted each other's back for comfort. The door shut. There it was... her key to the door of pain, and she just unlocked it.

"Damn it!" She cursed, banging the walls and stomping on the weathered floorboards. "What do I do now!?"

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><p>"What were you guys doing back there?" Ellie queried, a look of interest sparked in her eyes.<p>

"It don't matter," Joel said as he surveyed his surroundings. "What matters now is that we keep the infected away."

"But it seemed pretty serious-you had a gun and-" Ellie tried to pry out some more info, but Joel rushed to stop her interest.

"_It. Don't. Matter."_ Joel gruffly enunciated.

Ellie firmly nodded and strayed her gaze from him to investigate the perimeter for infected. The sight of a familiar fungal plate stopped her in her tracks, and she gripped Joel's hand to warn him of the clicker. He looked in the direction of Ellie's finger, and knelt down, trying to conserve bullets by swiftly killing the clicker with a shiv. He left the bent shiv engulfed in the clicker's skull, and continued to crouch through the eerie halls and rooms.

Joel strained his ears to locate any more loose clickers and or runners. He wasn't quite sure if it was fortunate or unfortunate that he couldn't hear any, but he couldn't hear any and that was good enough for him.

"None left?" Ellie guessed in a hopeful manner, her fists clenched to her chest.

"None left." Joel reassured, and gave the girl a soft pat to her shoulder.

Ellie reluctantly smiled, but smiled nonetheless. But before they could even celebrate their extremely short victory, a wave of clicking noises flourished throughout all of the rooms, and the sound of misguided footsteps crept and side-stepped heart-wrenchingly close. Joel and Ellie stared at each other with fear-ridden eyes.

"There's so many of them.." Ellie gasped quietly, worry riding through her voice.

"We can do it." Joel assured, and lightly dragged her to a safer hiding spot.

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><p>Rose banged the wall again with her now bruised fists, and stopped after doing one last bang. She glimpsed at her hands, and rotated them to check for any overly injured areas. She hesitantly grazed a profoundly bruised spot, and cringed at the pain that went along with the curiousity-filled touch.<p>

Rose finally settled herself against a nearby wall (that wasn't abused by her frenzied punches) and let her head fall to the right side of the wall until complete obviousness shined on her. She quickly rose up and scrambled for her walky-talky. She found the slightly screwed piece of plastic and turned it on with hope for the same voice that ruined her chances of secretly escaping with Ellie by her side.

Anxiously, she awaited for really any voice to emit from the device. With impatience, she pressed her ear against the sound holes, and disgruntingly waited for a voice. Nothing. She waited a couple of more minutes, but nothing occurred and she, with obvious anger, threw the thing across the room at the fridge. Suddenly, a muffled sound from plastic being placed against weathered floorboards caught her attention. She ran to it, and placed it close to her ear.

"Hello? Hello?" A voice echoed animatedly.

"Hello!?" Rose greeted back, and she mentally half-fived herself for the translucent idea that slithered into her Hell-house of a brain.

"Rose? Is that you?" The voice asked, shocked and ecstatic at the same time.

"Yeah!" Rose almost screamed but restrained her perplexed emotions with serene, serious emotions. She coughed into her fist. "Yeah," She said more calmly. "And you won't believe this, but-I found the girl." Rose announced, and the voice was silent for a moment before speaking again.

"You did? Tha-that's great! Are you coming..or?" The voice trailed off, waiting for a reply.

"I can't leave... I'm basically trapped here. I need you to come with as many people as you can to get me out of here. Of course, I'll have the girl with me." Rose said more quietly, looking around for any clues of anyone possibly listening in.

"Of course. Just tell us where you are." The voice told her, and she squinted her eyes while she strained to remember the name of the road signs.

"I'm in Wyoming... I'd say close-by where the old, dilapidated quarantine zone used to be." Rose informed as clearly as she could.

"We'll be there. Soon." The voice assured, and then clicked out.

Rose let the plastic device fall to her thigh as she smiled whimsically at the good that she thought she did. Though, the happiness was short-lived as Rose registered the sounds of mixed clicking and screaming. She reluctantly runs to the door, debating whether to open the door and reject Joel's orders, or to check to see if they're okay. She hears another scream, a scream from Ellie. The debate was over in an instant, and Rose kicked the door open, withdrawing a revolver that was safely tucked in her pocket. She checked the sides of the hall before dashing to Ellie's rescue.

"Joel better be keeping her safe." Rose mumbled as she zipped through the rooms cautiously.

* * *

><p>Three clickers cornered Ellie and Joel, two bullet-holes encased in the one to the very right. The clickers were circled around them, and Joel and Ellie were unable to do a thing because they were completely dry of bullets. Ellie rubbed the dull part of her switch blade, and stared at Joel for comfort. Joel couldn't do anything but hold her tight as the clickers grew closer.<p>

It was only five minutes ago before Joel had made the stupid mistake of crushing an empty bottle of wine. He mentally cursed himself when it occurred, but he was able to kill them regardless. Unfortunately, he was out of bullets. And Ellie was out of bullets. Now, they had no way of killing them except for Ellie going all switch blade on all of them. Though, if she did, she would be killed by the other two. There was no way to get out of this one, except if a stroke of luck had happened.

Just like all of those other times they had almost died, luck had saved them.

A flash of bullets engulfed all three of the clickers and they dropped immediately at the sudden death sentence. Their savior? Rose, with a revolver intertwined within her sweaty fingers.

"Don't you know not to bring a knife to a gun fight?" Rose remarked, and Joel almost smiled. Almost.

The smile would of come if it wasn't for the fact that Rose had tried to take away the only thing he had left in this world: Ellie.

"What the hell are you doing out here!?" Joel barked, and Rose furrowed her eyebrows at the brutish words.

"Saving your ass is what I'm doing here!" Rose retorted, and Joel crossed his arms, pouting.

"We didn't need your help-" Joel continued to argue, until Ellie chimed in abruptly.

"Thanks." Ellie shoved Joel back, gently smiling at Rose.

"No problem." Rose whispered mostly to herself as a reinforcement for her ego.

Finally..Rose felt like someone cared, and in this world nonetheless. She slowly walked up the hall, lost in thought until she heard a clicking noise and faulty stepping. She turned to the side, raising her gun to the source of the noise, but she was too late. The clicker was too fast, and was able to knock away her gun and bite into her shoulder.

Rose screamed as the blood drizzled off her shoulder and stained her clothes.

Rose's life... Her life... Was over.

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><p>AN: I'm super sorry that I haven't updated in so long.. It was a mixture of writer's block and sickness. I was sick for about four or five days, and after that I just lost all of my inspiration for this story, therefore creating my writer's block. I apologize, but I'm happy to write that I finished this chapter.


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